The story

One year before the day of his death, an ailing Sen. Ted Kennedy electrified a crowd of thousands at the Democratic National Convention.

"There is a new wave of change all around us, and if we set our compass true, we will reach our destination -- not merely victory for our party, but renewal for our nation," Kennedy said on August 25, 2008.

"And this November, the torch will be passed again to a new generation of Americans, so with Barack Obama and for you and for me, our country will be committed to his cause."

Two months later, the election of the United States' first black president marked the actualization of decades of work for Kennedy, who was a champion of civil rights throughout his nearly 50-year tenure in the Senate.

In the 1960s, as civil rights battles raged across the country, it was Kennedy's brother, President John F. Kennedy, who sought passage of a landmark bill to ban discrimination. Read full article »